Hosiery



Nov. 5, 1940. T. J. WALLNER HOS IERY Filed June 14, 1940 WM J. S m M 1min UH ML Lum Patented Nov. 5, 1940 H SIERY Thomas J. Wallner, Pulaski, Va., assignor to Wallner Silk Hosiery Mills, Inc., Pulaski, Va.

Application June 14, 1940, Serial No. 340,589

6 Claims.

This invention relates to full-fashioned flat knit stockings of the type having a double or folded welt. More particularly, the invention pertains to the welt construction per se and the manner of knitting the same.

An object of the invention is to provide a at knit full-fashioned stocking having a double thickness welt in which both the inner and outer plies of the welt are adapted to be stretched circumferentially to a like degree so that there will be no constriction by the inner layer on the thigh of the wearer.

Another object of the invention is -to construct the welt without the customary gap or opening lbetween the marginal edges of the inner layer of the welt. The present construction permits the meeting edges of the inner section of the welt to be seamed together throughout its length by means of a separate seam which extends down- 20,.wardly so that its lower end terminates in the leg seam.

Essentially, the invention consists in knitting the welt portion in such a manner that the marginal edges of the inner section of the welt conzstain additional material or wales to insure that the inner welt will not be constricted after it is seamed and will have sucient elasticity or stretch to expand to a like degree to the outer welt.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View through the double welt with the additional knit portions of the inner welt edges in unseamed condition;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the marginal portions of the inner welt seamed together;

Fig. 3 is a fragmental plan View of the inner welt seam;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a hat knit full-fashioned stocking blank showing one manner of forming the welt portion; and

Fig. 5 is a similar view to Fig. 4, illustrating another way of forming the welt.

In the drawing, numeral I denotes the leg portion of a at knit full-fashioned stocking having a welt formed of two sections 2 and 3 divided by a line of picot stitching 4. The section 2 of the stocking welt is in effect a continuation of the leg portion I and is of substantially the same width as the leg blank.

The inner section 3 of the welt is adapted to be folded inwardly over the section 2 to form a double or turn welt, with the free end of the inner section knitted at 5 to the lower edge of the outer welt section. Thus, a double thickness of mate- 55 rial is formed across the entire stocking blank.

(Cl. Gli- 173) Preferably, a picot edge 4 is formedat the upper edge of the stocking and this edge marks the line of fold of the two welt sections.

The leg portion is seamed up to form a tubular structure with the seam 6 joining the meeting edges of the leg and the outer section 2 of the double welt. The rear leg seam 6 extends over the top edge 4 of the welt and continues slightly into the top'part of the inner Welt section 3.

Customarily, the leg seam terminates just within the inner welt with the lower edge corners of the inside weltsecured to the stocking leg with its edges inbetween unsewn. This creates a hole or opening for a substantial length which is pulled openor gapped when the stocking is Worn and compensates for the stretch to which the inner and outer welt ply are subjected. A further reason for leaving this gap is that the hosiery seamer cannot close the opening.

With the present improved construction, this opening is completely closed so that there are two plies of welting through the top of the stocking while permitting the inner welt to stretch as fully as the outside welt. This is accomplished by knitting into the edges ofthe inside Welt additional threads to provide material for forming va closure seam without v`materially reducing the width of the welt to less than that of the width of the outer ply. Furthermore, when thestocking is worn the inner welt may be stretched with ease to at least the amount of stretch of the outer welt and the continuous inner ply provides a double thickness of material throughout the entire circumference to which the supporters may be attached. The continuation of the leg seam that closes the outer welt and the additional seam closing the inner welt are free from each other, although the top and bottom of the additional inner seam joins the end of the inner Welt seam and the leg seam at the point where it passes into the outer welt.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate the manner in which the additional material or Wales are knitted into the inner welt section. In Fig. 4, the stocking blank is knitted with a leg portion I and outer welt ply 2 of substantially the same width as the leg portion. The upper section 3, which forms the inner folded welt ply, is constructed with additional side wales I0 to form the added edge material I5. In practice this may be done by narrowing the outside welt section or' increasing the inside welt section. However, in each case it isv preferable to add a sufficient number of wales so that when the edges I5 are seamed together the 55 with the outer welt.

In Fig. the added side material Il is formed by the carrier setting arrangement in which four or more needles from the selvage are dropped to narrow the remainder of the Welt.

As before described the inner section 3 of the welt is folded on the picot line 4 and the free end of the inner welt attached to the upper portion of the stocking leg at 5. Prior to this operation, the leg seam 6 is applied to join the marginal edges of the leg portion and the seam continued throughout the length of the outer welt section 2 and over the folded edge thereof into the inner welt to a small degree. Thereafter the marginal edges I5 of the extra wales formed on the marginal edges of the inner welt are attached by independent seam I6 which extends from the end of the seam 6a downwardly to the leg portion of the seam where it is afxed at Il. This construction prevents-any undue strain on the leg seam and ties the welt in with the stocking and, as before stated, the inner Welt seam I6 is independent and free of the outer welt seam.

Thus, a stocking embodying this invention has a closed inner welt seam and compensates for the shortening or constriction of the circumferential length of the inner welt which would be present in a conventional stocking, if the gap between the edges of the inner welt were merely seamed t0- gether. Therefore, a continuous non-binding double welt is formed which permits a stocking supporter to be applied at any portion of the welt with the assurance that it will be affixed to a double thickness. In conventional full-fashioned stockings having the gap or opening at the rear seam of the inner welt, the supporting instrumentality is many times applied to this single thickness and undue strains put on the welt create runs or pull portions in the leg of the stocking.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A flat knit full-fashioned stocking having a folded welt, the inner portion of the Welt being somewhat wider throughout the greater portion of its length than is the outer portion of the welt.

2. A at knitfull-fashioned stocking having 2,220,560 inner welt will havesucient material to stretch a folded welt portion, said welt being knit the width of the stocking leg throughout the major portion of its length and slightly wider throughout the remainder of its length, said wider portion being included in the inner fold of the welt.

3. A flat knit full-fashioned stocking having a double welt, comprising inner and outer portions, the inner portion thereof being knit with a greater number of wales than the outer portion.

4. A knit tubular seamed stocking having a double ply folded welt and a single ply leg portion, the seam of the single ply portion extending throughout the outer ply of the folded welt and partly throughout the inner ply thereof, the remainder of the inner ply being of somewhat greater Width than the outer ply and seamed inner portion thereof; the portion of the inner ply possessing additional width being separately seamed and free from the seam of the outer ply.

5. A tubular seamed knitted stocking having a folded welt portion joined to the upper part of the leg portion, said welt having a transverse picot stitch dividing the welt into inner and outer sections when the welt is folded therealong, the outer section of the welt being knit the same width as the top of the leg portion of the stocking with its meeting edges joined by a continuation of the leg seam, the inner section of the welt being knit wider than the leg portion of `the stocking with its meeting edges separately joined by an additional seam.

6. A tubular seamed knitted stocking having a folded welt portionjoined to the upper part of a leg portion, said welt having a transverse picot stitch dividing the welt into inner and outer sections when the welt is folded therealong, the outer section of the welt being knit the same width as the top of the leg portion of the stocking with its meetingedges joined by a continuation of the leg seam, the inner section of the welt being knit wider than the leg portion of the stocking with its meeting edges separately joined by an additional seam, the additional seam joining the leg seam at the top of the leg portion of the stocking and at the end of the leg seam continuation in the outer section of the welt.

THOMAS J. `WALLNER. 

